Unlike this old, dusty buggy, it seems that no property is too old for a movie producer to take out of the closet and try to push on the moviegoing public. People ask why there are so few original screenplays anymore, with seemingly everything at the multiplex either an adaptation or a sequel of some kind. Usually the answer is that existing properties are a "sure thing"; they've made money in the past, so obviously people will turn out for something they've already liked. Raunch comedies like Zoolander 2 and Bad Santa 2 are always good bets, so it's not surprising to see studios go back to those wells, chasing that Dumb and Dumber To money. But some of these are so old and target such specific fan bases, you have to wonder what the producers were thinking to bring them back now.
5. Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie
AbFab is surprisingly recent, actually. It may have been created in 1992, but the latest proper season ran on the BBC in late 2003, and they produced some one-off specials on 2011 and 2012. Still, who out there was champing at the bit to see these two again? And if anyone was, why give it a theatrical release this time, rather than just put it out as another BBC special like they've been doing since the '90s?
4. Bridget Jones's Baby
Another one that might be slightly more recent than you remember. The original Bridget Jones's Diary was a hit in 2001, but the 2004 sequel, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, has all but faded from memory. Even if it had lived up to the original, twelve years is a pretty big wait for another sequel. On the other hand, the third installment might have come a lot quicker in that case. Either way, it's a decent delivery of exactly what the fans might expect.
3. My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2
The 2002 sleeper hit My Big Fat Greek Wedding still holds the record for highest-grossing romantic comedy of all time. The 2003 spin-off series My Big Fat Greek Life lasted all of seven episodes on CBS. Which, to be fair, puts it ahead of Police Squad, but still disappointing. Why bring it back now? I can't say, but time has certainly been kinder to Nia Vardalos than it has to her material. Maybe 2 Fat 2 Greek with Yiayia behind the wheel of a muscle car would have gone over better.
4. Dad's Army
You thought Absolutely Fabulous was old, but the last series of Dad's Army aired on BBC in 1977! There haven't even been regular specials or anything since then. But while reports from people with fond memories of the original say the new one doesn't quite measure up, the misadventures of pensioners serving on the home front in the lead-up to D-Day still manage to bring laughs, mostly thanks to a stellar cast of British greats.
5. Independence Day: Resurgence
I know this has been mostly indie-ish comedies, but mainstream blockbusters are hardly immune to reaching deep into the back catalogue for inspiration. Roland Emmerich came back twenty years later to make a sequel of his planetary-scale disaster hit Independence Day, and the only resemblance it bears is that this Resurgence is a planetary-scale disaster. Even Will Smith bailed on this sequel, and he signed on to star in Collateral Beauty.
